for free adj.
[common] Said of a capability of a programming language or
hardware that is available by its design without needing
cleverness to implement: "In APL, we get the matrix operations
for free." "And owing to the way revisions are stored in this
system, you get revision trees for free." The term usually refers
to a serendipitous feature of doing things a certain way (compare
big win), but it may refer to an
intentional but secondary feature.
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for the rest of us adj.
[from the Mac slogan "The computer for the rest of us"] 1.
Used to describe a spiffy product
whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more
often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2.
Describes a program with a limited interface, deliberately
limited capabilities, non-orthogonality, inability to compose
primitives, or any other limitation designed to not `confuse' a
naive user. This places an upper bound on how far that user can
go before the program begins to get in the way of the task
instead of helping accomplish it. Used in reference to Macintosh
software which doesn't provide obvious capabilities because it is
thought that the poor lusers might not be able to handle them.
Becomes `the rest of them' when used in third-party
reference; thus, "Yes, it is an attractive program, but it's
designed for The Rest Of Them" means a program that superficially
looks neat but has no depth beyond the surface flash. See also
WIMP environment, Macintrash, point-and-drool interface,
user-friendly.